Gallery: South Works

South Works circa 1970. The property’s steel-making history dates to 1880, when the North Chicago Rolling Mill Co. broke ground on a factory to make railroad tracks. Facing fierce overseas competition, U.S. Steel shut down the plant in 1992. Image: Southeast Chicago Historical Society

Stretching from 79th to 92nd streets, the two-mile extension of South Shore Drive cuts through the heart of the South Works site. The new road opens Oct. 26. Image: Chicago Lakeside Development

Covering 589 acres, the entire site is bigger than the Loop. McCaffery Interests Inc. plans to build more than 13,000 homes and 17.5 million square feet of commercial space on the property, a project that could take 45 years and cost $4 billion. Image: Skidmore Owings & Merrill

The centerpiece of the proposed development is a slip stretching from the lake to South Shore Drive that would be lined with residential buildings, restaurants and retail. Image: Skidmore Owings & Merrill

The slip was formerly used for unloading ore from ships arriving from the Upper Great Lakes. Image: Skidmore Owings & Merrill

In July 2011, the property was the site of the Dave Matthews Caravan, a three-day music festival featuring 38 bands and attracting an estimated 100,000 people. Image: Chicago Lakeside Development

The Chicago Velo Campus, a temporary bike racing track, has been operating on the Lakeside site for more than two years. Image: Chicago Velo Campus

A steel pour. South Works made the structural steel used to build the John Hancock Center and Sears Tower, now Willis Tower. Image: Southeast Chicago Historical Society

As many as 20,000 people worked at South Works at its peak employment in the 1940s. At one time, the factory supported a softball league with 63 teams and a bowling league with 90 teams, according to a 1992 Chicago Tribune story. Image: Southeast Chicago Historical Society

The factories have been demolished, but the giant walls used to hold ore unloaded from ships remain. Image: Chicago Lakeside Development

McCaffery plans to use one of the half-mile ore walls as the centerpiece of park, a nod to the site’s steelmaking past. Image: Sasaki Associates

Nine miles from downtown, the site offers views of the Chicago skyline. McCaffery is touting the tract as potential location for Barack Obama’s presidential library. Image: Chicago Lakeside Development

This Lincoln Park house amply opens to the outdoors, set on a quiet block with easy access to restaurants, CTA and other urban amenities. It will soon be for sale for just under $1.75 million.
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